GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Wednesday - May 24, 2023

  

Wednesday - May 24, 2023

If you wish to walk securely and be certain of your salvation, if you aspire to a great crown in Heaven that will never fade, love and honor Mary, and strive to make her known, loved, and honored by others.

 

-St. Joseph Cafasso

May 24, 2023

Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Lectionary: 299

 

Reading I     

                                                                                                Acts 20:28-38

 

At Miletus, Paul spoke to the presbyters of the Church of Ephesus:

“Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock

of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers,

in which you tend the Church of God

that he acquired with his own Blood.

I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you,

and they will not spare the flock.

And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth

to draw the disciples away after them.

So be vigilant and remember that for three years, night and day,

I unceasingly admonished each of you with tears.

And now I commend you to God

and to that gracious word of his that can build you up

and give you the inheritance among all who are consecrated.

I have never wanted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.

You know well that these very hands

have served my needs and my companions.

In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort

we must help the weak,

and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said,

‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

 

When he had finished speaking

he knelt down and prayed with them all.

They were all weeping loudly

as they threw their arms around Paul and kissed him,

for they were deeply distressed that he had said

that they would never see his face again.

Then they escorted him to the ship.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                                          PS 68:29-30, 33-35a, 35bc-36ab

 

R. (33a) Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.

 

Show forth, O God, your power,

the power, O God, with which you took our part;

For your temple in Jerusalem

let the kings bring you gifts.

R. Sing to God, O Kingdoms of the earth.

 

You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God,

chant praise to the Lord

who rides on the heights of the ancient heavens.

Behold, his voice resounds, the voice of power:

“Confess the power of God!”

R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.

 

Over Israel is his majesty;

his power is in the skies.

Awesome in his sanctuary is God, the God of Israel;

he gives power and strength to his people.

R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.

 

Alleluia         

 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Your word, O Lord, is truth;

consecrate us in the truth.

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                           Jn 17:11b-19

 

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying:

“Holy Father, keep them in your name

that you have given me,

so that they may be one just as we are one.

When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me,

and I guarded them, and none of them was lost

except the son of destruction,

in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

But now I am coming to you.

I speak this in the world

so that they may share my joy completely.

I gave them your word, and the world hated them,

because they do not belong to the world

any more than I belong to the world.

I do not ask that you take them out of the world

but that you keep them from the Evil One.

They do not belong to the world

any more than I belong to the world.

Consecrate them in the truth.

Your word is truth.

As you sent me into the world,

so I sent them into the world.

And I consecrate myself for them,

so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”

 

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SELF-SUFFICIENT BUT NOT INDEPENDENT!

To be holy means to be different, set apart from the world. In Christ’s prayer of today’s Gospel story, we see what makes us different: We belong to the kingdom of heaven because Jesus has consecrated us to the truth (i.e., to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth).

 

We live in the world so that we can infect it with the kingdom of God. We live in the world so that we can bring the truth to it. The Spirit of Truth works through us to carry holy ethics into business, into families, into politics, and into every aspect of society.

 

In our first reading, we get a glimpse of St. Paul’s influence on business and community affairs. He transformed the town of Ephesus by living the Gospel. Although he was a powerful preacher of the truth, his words were backed up by the holiness of the Spirit of Truth that lived within him.

 

If we are extraordinary homilists or religious education teachers or daily reflection writers, but we are not preaching the same message with our daily, person-to-person behavior, the gift of preaching is being used scandalously. It’s a terrible, far-reaching sin. It would be better to lose our voice than for souls to be wounded or lost on our account.

 

Notice how Paul set an example. He could have rightfully asked the church community to finance his living expenses, but he worked as a tent-maker to take care of his own needs and to help his companions. Thus, he influenced the ethics of Ephesian society by showing that it’s important to be self-sufficient for the sake of “helping the weak.” He took care of his own needs to the extent that he could, not to be self-sufficient in an isolated sort of way, but to be generous toward others.

 

I have the same reason for not charging a fee for anything provided by Good News Ministries. Since its founding in 1995, my husband’s salary in the highly stressful computer industry enabled me to do the ministry work of GNM without pay for the first eight years, and then for very low pay a few more years. I still earn far less of what’s normal for the head of an organization that’s as busy and massive as GNM, and I have not permitted a raise for myself in 3 years, nor do I intend to receive a raise for the next few years, preferring instead to direct increases in support from benefactors to other staff and to expanding the tools and resources that will change more lives around the world.

 

Generous donations by people who support Good News Ministries are financial sacrifices that they make to supplement the sacrifices that my team and I make so that together we are “helping the weak.”

 

Self-sufficiency can feel like independence, and independence can easily lead to separation from community when we pridefully try to take care of all of our needs by ourselves. Living the Gospel means giving and receiving so that we have more to give.

 

If you have needs that are not being met, the misery you feel is a warning flag. Either you’re not availing yourself of what God wants to give you through others, or others are saying no to being used by God. As St. Paul demonstrated, by receiving what we need and sharing what we have, we transform the world.

 

Today's Prayer

 

Jesus, I know that I do not belong to this world, but here I am and I need You! Thank You for praying for me! Thank You for sanctifying Yourself for me! I beg You for the grace to be aware of Your deep and endless love for me and to be always faithful to the Truth. Amen.

 

 

God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”